Issues
by Kuroi Neko-kun
Summary: One of their CSIs return to day-shift and since Speed’s death, everyone notice that she has changed. Chapter 4 Up.
1. Return

**Issues**

**By: Kuroi Neko-kun**

Summary: One of their CSIs return to day-shift and since Speed's death, everyone notice that she has changed.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Though the severely depressed character, Alena Richardson, in the story is mine. And the story itself.

Warning: Um… there's an OC? Oh, spoilers to Lost Son. And I haven't watched it yet. My country's still stuck in season 2. I'm not complaining though. Though I apologize for Ryan's OOC (if any). I don't know him yet.

A/N: My first CSI OC fic ever! This just came to my head. I wonder why?

**&&&**

Chapter 1: Return

**&&&**

The call came in at five in the morning. The loophole of all loopholes states that this was officially day-shift's call (though it had been argued that it was night-shift's call). Detective Frank Tripp decided he was better off working with dayshift anyway. He dialed the familiar number before jumping into the car. As he reached the crime scene, he noticed a Toyota Rav4 parked near the scene. He recognized the car and mentally searched the number. _She can't be back…_ he thought as he parked his car. He climbed out and could see a young woman holding up a flash light, looking at the exterior of his scene. Standard protocol was to wait for the detective, after all.

"Alena?" The brunette turned around with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Frank," she said," long time, no see." Frank ignored that and looked at her, concern etched on her face.

"Alena, aren't you still on medical leave?" he asked.

"I was. My leave ended yesterday," she explained before turning to the scene," Are we going to check out the scene while it's still fresh or are we going to wait for Horatio?"

"This isn't your shift's call, Detective Richardson," Frank said firmly," I suggest you return home."

"I'm not going anywhere." Alena looked into his eyes, glaring hard. She was firm on not leaving.

"Please, Alena."

"I'm not leaving. You can call Johnson and get me off. I'm the first CSI on the scene and I'm not leaving unless you have a damn good reason, Tripp, and you don't!" Her temper was flaring and she took a deep breath to keep her cool. Tripp clenched and unclenched his fist, his head searching for something.

"I have a good reason, Alena." Both of them turned to the direction of the voice. Horatio was looking at her.

"H…" she mumbled.

"Frank, has the first officer cleared the scene?" H asked his eyes still leveled with Alena.

"Yeah," Frank answered.

"Good… Calleigh, Eric and Ryan are on their way. Will you walk them through?" Frank silently nodded before walking off. Alena let out a sigh. The last thing she wanted was a lecture from Horatio.

"Alena, let's walk to my car."

**&&&**

The walk was silent and Alena felt uneasy. She had been used to Horatio's little lectures before as she had many encounters of them when she worked day-shift. That was before she took up the night-shift job. She sighed inwardly, glancing at Horatio, who had his dark glasses on, making sure she was unable to determine whether he was looking at her or not.

"Horatio…" she mumbled," I know I shouldn't be here but I couldn't wait to get back on shift and…" Horatio stopped her.

"How was therapy?" he asked. Alena looked at the ground, not wanting to answer. "Alena, Dr. Gerald told me that you haven't been progressing. It's already been six months since…" he stopped before gently lifting the younger woman's chin. He saw the tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I can't let him go, H…"

"You have to accept his death, Al," H mumbled," I don't think he'll be happy knowing that you're not moving on." Alena wiped her tears away before looking at the day-shift supervisor.

"H, can we go somewhere?"

**&&&**

The cemetery's eerie silence never bothered him. It was the young lady that asked him to come here that did. He watched her walk down the row of headstones. She moved in one motion, knowing where she was heading as she had been here before. _A lot of times before…_ the redhead thought as he followed her. She stopped at a particular headstone and squatted, touching the stone as she does so. H just stood over her, watching her actions. Her body moved with the sigh she let out and finally spoke.

"I come here every day," she mumbled," I know my psych says that I should only visit once a week, but I come here every day anyway."

"Alena…"

"I can't move on because I feel that I could have prevented his death. Every time I saw him in the locker room, I could have said something about his gun…" Horatio touched her shoulder.

"Your guilt is the same as mine, Al." She got up and faced him. Horatio saw the pained look on her face.

"But you don't have to live with not knowing how it feels to tell someone that you love him. If only I had the chance…" She turned back to the stone and sighed. "I won't let him go." Horatio looked into her sad green eyes, noticing that she had been given enough time to think of possibilities. It was not helping with her deteriorating mental health.

"We have to stop punishing ourselves at a point," H mumbled. Alena looked at him, giving him a sad smile.

"With the way things are going, H, I don't think I will." Horatio watched as she walked back to his Hummer. He looked back at the headstone.

"Don't worry, Speed," he mumbled," I'll take care of her." With that, he turned and walked away.

**&&&**

As soon he reached the crime lab, he was skirted away by his usually cheery blonde CSI who dragged him to a corner. H looked at her with slight displeasure as there was a case that he needed to be updated upon.

"Frank told me that Alena was first on the scene today. You took her away before we came. Did her leave end today?" she said, in a rapid gunfire that may just come out from one of the machine guns that the Bullet Girl enjoyed processing.

"Yes, Calleigh," he said, in a calm voice. Calleigh is one of Alena's few friends. The questions were her form of worry. Horatio allowed it. "I took her home."

"You didn't go anywhere else? Because you know I can check what type of dirt is on your shoe…" H smiled before going back to his normal demeanor.

"She suggested we go to Speed's grave." He noticed the grimace on Calleigh's face. "We talked."

"About Tim?"

"More about her… She won't let him go."

"We know what _that's_ doing to her. Maybe it's about time you talk to Johnson and transfer Alena to days. She needs to be surrounded by friends," the blonde suggested.

"And where do I put Ryan?"

"Well, she has to understand that he's a CSI, not someone to completely replace Tim," she said. Horatio's blue eyes leveled with her green ones.

"Did you accept it as that?"

"I try to," she mumbled truthfully.

"So do I but we have to understand that all of us will be replace one day," Horatio pointed out bluntly. The younger CSI sighed before looking back at Horatio.

"Did you accept it as that?" she asked before shaking her head. "You don't have to answer that to me, Horatio." Horatio watched the blonde CSI turn her back on him. He sighed.

_Of course I don't, Calleigh… No one does._

**&&&**

"Horatio!" A shout echoed in his office and was soon accompanied by the bang of his door being slammed shut by a rather frustrated man. H looked up from the paperwork he was doing and faced the man.

"Lieutenant Johnson, how nice of you to visit my office," H said cynically.

"Don't pull shit with me, Horatio! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he said, slamming a piece of paper on his table. H looked at it for a moment.

"So you've found my transfer request. It seems like it's the only papers you can actually find, Dick." (A/N: yes, Lieutenant Dick Johnson… Enjoy the humor.) Dick glared at Horatio.

"You've stopped asking for transfers six months ago, what the fuck is the reason that you want my CSI?" Horatio patiently pushed pass his language.

"Dick, when I asked for the transfer the last time, the reason was to get her away from her abusive boyfriend, namely you."

"Fu—"

"One more and I'll personally take this matter to the director, Johnson," H said in an icy voice. He stood up and pushed the paper across his desk.

"Now, I know that Detective Richardson's transfer will only take place when both shift supervisors agree on the terms and sign the official papers. If you don't, then I'll bring all your… seedier matters to IAB."

"Stetler won't believe a fu… thing you say, Horatio," Johnson said, seething.

"I'm not bringing your case to Rick," Horatio said in a low voice," Liam would be interested in what one of the CSIs in his jurisdiction was doing to his own subordinates." Dick flinched at the name. A good reason he should. Horatio was talking about Liam Wilson, Head of the Internal Affairs Department of Miami-Dade Police Department. Also, a good friend of Horatio as the man needed the CSI's help in a case.

"You'd take it to Wilson?" Horatio flashed a cold smile.

"Let's discuss the terms of the transfer tomorrow," he said.

**&&&**

Ryan Wolfe was not used to not seeing his supervisor at the crime scene before he arrived. Calleigh left he scene after talking to Tripp. Sensing that something was up, he tried to pick up news. He had asked Tripp what happened to Horatio, the detective said that there was a private matter he had to deal with. He tried prying something out of Delko but the CSI shot back that they had a crime scene to process. When he returned to the lab, he wanted to ask the man himself but got squared off with work. The next best thing, however, was Calleigh, who asked him for an update of the case. After he told her, he began asking questions.

"Horatio didn't question you when you talked to him?"

"No, we had more… serious matters to talk about."

"Matters like what?"

"Nothing that involves you," Calleigh said icily. Ryan took a breath and turned to her.

"It's about Speedle, isn't it?" The blonde turned and looked at him, a stoic expression on her face.

"Ryan… It's more than that."

"Then tell me. Calleigh, I can't work in a crime lab that decides that I don't have the right to know about a fallen comrade. I say that I do, so help me out and tell me." She couldn't ignore the look in Ryan's eyes. She sighed.

"You better sit down then."

**&&&**

To Be Continued

**&&&**

A/N: Okay, I just have something to get off my chest. This came to me when I was typing the story. Alena dated Johnson. I wonder what she said if she told her girl friends her boyfriend's name. I mean the jokes just write themselves (like 'how big is Dick's… err… Johnson?' and 'wow a double tap, you lucky girl, you.' etc.) Then again, my friends keep on asking 'how big is Horatio's cane?' Like I know…


	2. First Day

**Issues**

**By: Kuroi Neko-kun**

Summary: One of their CSIs return to day-shift and since Speed's death, everyone notice that she has changed.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Though the severely depressed character, Alena Richardson, in the story is mine. And the story itself.

Warning: Um… there's an OC? Oh, spoilers to Lost Son. And I haven't watched it yet. My country's still stuck in season 2. I'm not complaining though. Though I apologize for Ryan's OOC (if any). I don't know him yet.

A/N: My first CSI OC fic ever! This just came to my head. I wonder why?

**&&&**

Chapter 2: First Day

**&&&**

Horatio left late that night. After submitting the last of the papers for Alena's transfer, he checked up on any cases that he had not been checking upon during this process. He had not even told the team about the transfer yet as he thought that they needed to concentrate on the case. He was slightly disturbed with Ryan though. The new CSI came up to him and said, "I know, H." Horatio waited for him to explain which he did.

"I know about Detective Richardson… or at least I know what I should know."

"I see…" H said," Then you should understand your position then."

"What?"

"You'll know what I mean when the time comes, Ryan." He left it as that for the time being. H knew there was some animosity between Ryan and the crime lab at a point. He took the man's job two weeks after his death. It was enough reason to infuriate the team. Some of this frustration was slapped onto Horatio who approved the replacement. He had wondered once or twice whether this was a good idea. He still does. As he walked to his Hummer, his cell phone rang. He sighed as he took out the phone.

"Dr. Gerald. How nice of you to call at this hour," H said.

_"I apologize of the timing, Lieutenant, but since you informed me of your plan, I've been getting second thoughts about it."_ The doctor's voice was of worry and Horatio understood the reason. The plan was risky.

"It could be the only way to let her accept things for the way they are now, doctor."

_"I understand that but what if the opposite happens, Lieutenant? How do we prevent that?" _

"Scientists take risks, doctor."

_"Yes, we do. It's just that Alena is the only patient I had that is not showing any signs of improvement. Her body is suffering from her state of mind. Since the incident, she has been avoiding sleep like a plague."_

"Six months without sleep…" Horatio muttered.

_"You've seen her collapse from her severe fatigue before. Don't forget the state she was in before you personally sent her to me."_ Horatio couldn't forget about that incident. It was a week after Speed's funeral when one of the night shift team told H that Alena never came to work. H had asked whether she called for leave but the person said no. That alerted Horatio as he knew that Alena _never_ left work without a cause. He called Calleigh to search her house while he headed to Speed's former apartment. He found her lying unconscious in his bedroom, dressed in a white wedding gown. Beside her was a half empty bottle of scotch, an empty bottle of sleeping pills and a suicide note. He got to her in time before the pills and alcohol took effect, managing to get her to throw up some of the mixture. After that, she was on medical leave for six months.

"I remember."

_"I just hope that you'll be there for her when she needs help, Lieutenant."_ The doctor hung up after, leaving Horatio to contemplate on situations and memories.

**&&&**

She looked at the slip of notice she was given and looked at the person who gave it to him. The brunette scanned the paper again. The paper contained her slip of transfer, a finalized version from the two supervisors. She looked up to her current supervisor again.

"I'm to be transferred to day-shift?" she asked.

"Horatio… requested your transfer. In retrospect of your medical condition, the doctor had given his insights of the matter," he said.

"Dick… this is…" She looked at him. "Thanks. This is the first time you did anything nice for me."

"Horatio threatened me. I was doing it for my own welfare."

"You always do," she said before getting up. Dick touched her shoulder.

"At least, you'll be happier, Al. You deserve it." Alena turned to her boss and nodded.

"Thanks."

**&&&**

As she entered the locker room Monday morning, she was greeted with a pair of arms and a smiling face. The cheery blonde CSI now had reason to be more… cheery.

"Al! I've been waiting for this day to come!" she said, hugging her friend. Alena hugged back not able to hold back the fact that she was as elated as her friend.

"Well, I hope this helps me with the stress syndrome."

"You know it will. You're surrounded with friends now," she said before adding," Since you're in day shift now, we can finally get that 'girl time' we've been talking about."

"Something tells me I want to know." The ladies turned to see a grinning Eric. "Hey Alena." The brunette hugged the Cuban and pecked him on the cheek.

"Delko, it's been a long time…" she said.

"And you are still as beautiful as ever," he said, smiling. Alena smiled back.

"Thank you." She sighed. "Never thought Dick would agree for my transfer though. Horatio tried like a dozen times…"

"Five," Calleigh corrected," The first was when Megan resigned. He knew that you'd be a great addition. The second, third and fourth was pushed in succession when you and Johnson dated—"

"Calleigh, I know what happened there," she mumbled before sighing," Timmy found out that he was beating me up." She looked at them with sad eyes. "God… I miss him."

"Al…" the blonde whispered, holding her friend in her arms. A small silence ensued and was broken when the door opened again with a slam.

"Can't believe the traffic out there!!" Eric and Calleigh looked at each other, recognizing the voice. But before they could contemplate on anything, Ryan made his appearance to where they were.

"Damn, Horatio is so going to kill…" he trailed off, noticing the solemn surrounding and the lady Calleigh was holding in her arms. Alena looked at him, her eyes showing no emotion.

"Hi?" Ryan said in confusion.

"Ryan Wolfe?" Alena asked. Ryan nodded, not able to say anything. "Alena Richardson," she introduced herself.

"Pleased to meet you," he finally said, offering his hand for a shake. She looked at the hand, then at him.

"Can't say the same," she mumbled before walking past him.

**&&&**

"She said that?" Horatio asked as the two slowly walked to the crime scene they were called to. Calleigh approached him when she came on the call. She was having a hectic and jumpy day as she became the one that had been preventing another confrontation of Ryan and Alena. And now, Horatio had called all of them to the crime scene. They had three dead bodies and a mansion to meticulously process.

"Al's not going to accept him in any way, H. She's stubborn."

"Doctor Gerald can agree with you on that one," H darkly mused. "We can't separate them for long. One time, I'm going to need them to work together." Calleigh gave him a look.

"You're already planning that, aren't you?"

"Calleigh, I thought you are a lawyer's daughter," Horatio said with a small smile before he headed out to the scene.

**&&&**

At H's instructions, Alena took the master bedroom and began processing the scene. One of the bodies was found in the hallway, heading to the room. She had silently deduced that there was either something important in the room or the victim was looking for a safe spot. She swept her light at the floor, finding a few prints. She opened her kit and took out the electrostatic dust lifter. As she was collecting the prints, someone came into the room.

"Found something?" was the hopeful question from Ryan's voice.

"Didn't H give you a specific room to do?" she asked.

"He actually told me to work with you." Alena silently cursed at her new supervisor.

"Well, I'm fine. I'll deal with this room and you can grab a soda or something," she muttered. Ryan sighed.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well, help me by disappearing," she shot at him. He blinked.

"Can't. I have a job to do," he said as he walked pass here, careful not to tamper with the floor, and found the walk-in closet. "You checked here?"

"I just got here," she muttered, looking at the closet. Before they could continue their unfriendly banter, they heard the distinct sound of a shuffle from the closet. Alena looked at Ryan, her hand on her gun holster. Ryan unbuttoned his holster, gripped his gun and nodded at her. He opened the closet, finding a scared little girl backing up in the closet. Ryan blinked before bending down.

"Hey," he said in a soft voice. The girl just backed up some more. "Don't be scared. I'm with the police." He took out his badge and showed it to her. "Come out from there." He offered his hand. Alena had stood up and watched as the girl took his hand and came out from the closet. When she spotted Alena, she hid behind Ryan.

"It's okay," Ryan said, looking at the girl," she's a friend." The girl moved away. Ryan squatted and smiled at her. "My name is Ryan. That's Alena. What's you're name?" After a long silence, she finally spoke.

"Kate."

**&&&**

"Kate McCallum," Alena said as she stepped out of the mansion," Daughter of Andrew and Helen McCallum. The deceased couple." Ryan looked at her as he finished gathering evidence from the little girl who had trusted only him. "What was she doing in her parents' room?"

"She had a nightmare," Ryan stated, "and when little girls have nightmares, they run to mommy and daddy."

"Next time she has a nightmare, that's not going to happen," Alena said," And next time, don't lie to little girls." Ryan blinked.

"And how did I do that?"

"I'm not your friend." She walked off, leaving Ryan to watch her leave, a look of disbelief on his face. He sighed.

**&&&**

She had asked for all the shoe and foot prints they collected from the scene. After she spent two hours sorting them out, she began comparing the shoeprints to the shoes in the market. An hour later, she was still looking through the long, long list.

"Come on… Everybody buys their shoes from somewhere…" she muttered.

"Alena." She turned to face Ryan again.

"Do you always have to make my day worse?" The CSI let her remark slide and faced her.

"The McCallum mansion prints that I ran through AFIS got a hit," he handed her the file. "Dylan Harrison or once known as the Barefoot Killer." Alena looked at the file then at Ryan.

"He was accused of that but it was never proven."

"You can," he pointed to the assorted footprints.

"With a rep like that, we're sure to have his footprint in the system," she said, coming with a good idea. She walked pass him and headed out of the lab. Ryan visibly slacked, slightly disappointed.

"Wolfe?" Alena said, popping her head at the entrance of the lab, smiling at him. Ryan perked up a bit. "Thanks. Can you go through the shoe prints for me?" Glad that they were getting somewhere, the CSI nodded.

"Sure," he said before turning to the pile of prints. "I'm such a sucker."

**&&&**

"Not a match," Ryan groaned as he tapped at the last set of prints," I've got Versace, Adidas and market flip-flops but I can't match one stinking shoe!!" As he let out his exasperation, Eric stepped into the lab.

"Frustrated?" Ryan looked at him with an expression that said 'you think?' Eric smiled. "When you can't match the shoe to a U.S. market, go international."

"I did international. I'm thinking custom made shoes." Eric snorted. "What?"

"I used to know someone who had custom made shoes, said that it's a lot more comfortable than buying."

"Him?" Eric nodded slowly. "Wait, did he tell you where he made his shoes?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"A hunch." Eric looked through his wallet, remembering that he was given a card. He found it and handed it to Ryan.

"LaPoligia's. I'm heading there." He pressed 'print' on the computer and got the print that he wanted.

"Why?" The Cuban asked, curious with his theory.

"Custom made shoes usually means that the buyer decides what goes to his shoe… Like a car."

"So that's a unique shoe. But there are a lot of shoemakers out there."

"Well, all I need is this contact to find the others. Six degrees of separation," he said, smirking.

"One contact to know the world," Eric continued. Ryan nodded.

"Are you coming?"

"Nah… I've got a set of prints to run through AFIS."

"Okay, your loss."

**&&&**

Horatio was about to head to ballistics when he bumped into Alena, who had a grin on her face. He knew from experience that this was good news.

"Dylan Harrison is your prime suspect."

"The Barefoot Killer?"

"Yes… He left his print that not only tied him to this case but all the other cases," the brunette said, still smiling.

"I'm tempted to say 'cool'," Horatio mused.

"Say it then."

"Cool." Alena laughed.

"That sounds weird from your mouth," she pointed out," Well, you've got a suspect. I've got to tell Wolfe that he's right."

"You talked to Ryan?"

"He pointed out the barefoot theory. I guess I owe him something," she said, smiling.

"Are you warming up to him?"

"Not really, H. But I can't hate him without knowing who he is first."

"It's only your first day, Al," Horatio reminded her. Alena gave him a look, not getting him.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing. I have a suspect." With that, he left Alena with confusion etched on her face.

**&&&**

"A nine mil and two forty-fives…" Calleigh muttered as she looked at the bullets from the two bodies. She had been waiting for Alexx to extract the bullets from all three bodies.

"Does it make sense to you?" Alexx asked as she continued with her autopsy.

"Not really… considering the McCallums got the forty-fives from the guy who had the nine mil," she sighed," And that I have one forty-five caliber gun with me and no nine mil."

"What about the husband and wife? Did you find a gun on them or near them?" Alexx asked, trying to help out.

"No… no gun in sight and we checked every part of that house. It doesn't make sense."

"Well, maybe finding out the other guy's identity would help. I passed his ten-card to Eric," Alexx sighed," He doesn't make sense either."

"Eric?" Calleigh asked in an amused lilt.

"Our third victim," Alexx said, walking to the next table," The marks on his feet indicate that he walked barefoot. And he didn't bring anything else but the clothes on his back…"

"…and a forty five," Calleigh continued," Maybe AFIS can get us something." There was a small silence before Alexx looked at the southerner again.

"I haven't seen her all day."

"Alena? Well, if you find a bug in your bodies, you will. You know how much she hates morgues," Calleigh pointed out. Alexx sighed.

"I want to see her. You don't know how much I miss her."

"I'm betting not as much as me," Calleigh said, smiling.

"We used to make fun of her a lot like little girls," Alexx said, reminiscing," And when we teased her about Timmy."

"Yeah…" Calleigh said, sighing," I can't imagine what's going through her mind. She really loved him."

"And he too." They settled into a small silence again. This time in their own reflections.

"Well, I better get back to work."

"Tell Alena to swing by," Alexx called out. Calleigh nodded.

**&&&**

Horatio frowned at Eric's findings. Apparently, his suspect got a nine millimeter bullet wound and is lying in the autopsy room with Alexx. He sighed as he gathered his CSIs in the layout room.

"Let's begin from the start."

"Andrew and Helen McCallum were shot with a forty five caliber gun," Calleigh started.

"Which belonged to our third victim, Dylan Harrison," Eric said.

"Who was shot with an unknown nine mil that doesn't belong to our first two victims," Calleigh concluded.

"I can't find Wolfe anywhere," Alena said as she enters the layout room.

"He went on to Lapoligia's," Eric said offhandedly. Alena creased her eyebrows.

"Speed used to go there to make his shoes," she said," Why is Wolfe going there?"

"On a hunch. One of the shoe prints didn't match to any of the industrial footwear available on the market, so he guessed it's a custom," Eric explained.

"It could belong to our mysterious suspect," Calleigh pointed out. The brunette raised one of her eyebrows.

"We have another suspect?" Calleigh took the chance of explaining to her friend and colleague their findings. Alena frowned at most of it.

"But the McCallums' murder is solved," she said.

"On the 'who' part anyway," Eric pointed out," Not the 'why'."

"Strange," H mumbled as he looked through the case files.

"Yeah, I know, H," Eric said. The supervisor shook his head.

"No, it's strange because this isn't the Barefoot Killer's usual MO. Alena, you remember the case. What was his MO?"

"The Barefoot Killer's? Well, he chooses his victims by dividing the victim's age with their house number. If it's an odd number, he kills them."

"Right, what are the McCallums' ages?"

"Helen is twenty-seven. Andrew is thirty-four," Calleigh provided, looking at the file in front of her. Alena looked at their house number.

"Eight-two…" A quick mental calculation slapped her with realization. "None of them are perfect odd numbers!"

"This isn't part of his serial killing," Horatio said.

"What could it be?"

"A hit?" Eric suggested.

"But the McCallums aren't even that rich," Calleigh offered as insight.

"His MO wasn't even for rich," Alena pointed out," It's the thrill of a kill."

"So why did he kill the McCallums?" Eric asked.

"Maybe we should ask our only witness," H said, looking at Alena.

"Kate?" she said," If you want to interrogate Kate, don't look at me."

"Alright, I'll call Ryan," Horatio said," Is there anything else?"

"I'm still running the prints from the guest rooms through AFIS," Eric pointed out.

"Anything else?"

"Until I get a nine mil, H, I can tell you something," Calleigh pointed out.

"I'll run full background on Dylan Harrison," Alena offered.

"Guys, this is good work," H said," so far."

"Thanks, H," Alena replied. They dispersed a moment later with their respective work to be done.

**&&&**

Horatio's call got him back as fast as he could. He wasn't making any progress at the shoemaker's as they didn't keep many records of their customers. They only recognized them by face. He wasn't that shocked but he managed to get a list of shoemakers available in the Miami-Dade area. He kept the list and headed back to the crime lab. Horatio waited for him with Kate in his office. Calleigh passed him a glass of milk on the way. As he entered, Kate McCallum sat up.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed. Ryan smiled at her before placing the cup of milk on the table.

"Hello, Kate," he greeted, sitting beside her at Horatio's desk.

"Mr. Caine said you'd come back. He also said you might want to ask me questions," the girl said. Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, I do want to ask you questions," he said," So let's get started. Kate, was there anybody staying at your house the day before I found you?" Kate thought for awhile before nodding.

"Do you remember who it was?"

"It was a man. Mommy called him Jerry."

"Kate, did you see what Jerry looked like?" The girl nodded again. "Can you remember?"

"I can't remember," she finally answered. Ryan looked at her before smiling.

"It's okay, Kate," he said, placing his hand on her head," Would you like to go for some ice-cream? My treat." The girl grinned. "Okay, wait outside. I need to talk to Mr. Caine for awhile." Obliging, she left the office, leaving Ryan with Horatio.

"She's taking a liking to you," Horatio noted.

"Is she staying with family?" Ryan asked.

"Her aunt and uncle are taking care of her in the Keys." Ryan took it in, sighing again.

"I couldn't find anything at Lapoligia's," he said," But they gave me a list of shoemakers."

"That will come in handy," the supervisor pointed out.

"Horatio… I don't really know whether this could lead anywhere. We're stuck. We didn't miss anything and still…"

"We need this Jerry's face. Maybe Eric's prints could lead somewhere."

**&&&**

"Sorry, H," the Cuban apologized," Not a single Jerry in the list. The guest rooms had ten prints each minimum and nothing out of the ordinary from each print that hit AFIS." Horatio looked at the each catalogued result and sighed. Ryan was right. This case was hitting a dead end.

"What now, H?" Eric asked.

"We're at a dead end. There's nothing else we can do."

"So whoever killed Dylan Harrison is still out there?"

"We'll get him… just not now."

**&&&**

Alena sat down in the break room, coffee mug in her hand. She took a sip of it before getting up. She walked down the hall and stopped at the one place she dreaded to go. Taking a breath, she pushed the morgue's door and entered. Alexx was cleaning the autopsy table when she entered.

"I was wondering when you were coming here," she mused. The brunette gave a small smile.

"The last time I was here, I ended up in a coma for three days," she said, sadness in her voice. Alexx turned to her. "Missed the funeral."

"Honey, it's not your fault."

"Alexx, how many times have you thought about how you could prevent it?" The ME sighed before touching Alena's hand.

"I never thought of it at all."

"What?" Alena asked, confused.

"In my mind, he's still here."

"So is mine," Alena mumbled before hugging Alexx. "Missed you, mama hen."

"Now, sugar. Why don't we catch up with each other during dinner?"

"Peter doesn't mind?"

"He'll understand," Alexx said.

**&&&**

To Be Continued

**&&&**


	3. Coming to Terms

**Issues**

**By: Kuroi Neko-kun**

Summary: One of their CSIs return to day-shift and since Speed's death, everyone notice that she has changed.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Though the severely depressed character, Alena Richardson, in the story is mine. And the story itself.

Warning: Um… there's an OC? Oh, spoilers to Lost Son. And I haven't watched it yet. My country's still stuck in season 2. I'm not complaining though. Though I apologize for Ryan's OOC (if any). I don't know him yet.

A/N: My first CSI OC fic ever! This just came to my head. I wonder why?

**&&&**

Chapter 3: Coming to Terms

**&&&**

She managed to last an entire week of work without being totally annoyed by Ryan. Few times, they did have actual conversations but she couldn't bring herself to become a friend to him. The whole reason he was in the crime lab as a CSI is the one reason she couldn't accept Ryan as anything else but a person he had to work with. She dealt with it like how she dealt with her previous supervisor. Though at times, she wanted to scream at the CSI for trying to be friendly. She wished that she would bite back the snide remarks she threw him. She sighed and stared out the window of her apartment. She had just got off a case with Horatio who had told her to get some rest. She resisted the urge to snort at that. H knew that she wasn't sleeping and he was worried about her. He would constantly call when she was going on or off a case. She was touched with his concern for her but she felt that it was slightly obsessive at a point. All the same, she dealt with Horatio's concern, feeling bad about lying to him sometimes. Her fingers toyed with a bottle of sleeping pills prescribed by Dr Gerald a long time ago to get her to fall asleep.

_Maybe it's about time I got some…_she thought,_ but H might need me on call._ After spending time deciding whether she wanted sleep, she decided that one more night wouldn't hurt… As the thought escaped her, her phone rang.

"Richardson," she answered.

_"Ah, Alena, how have you been?"_ said the recognizable voice on the other line.

"I'm fine, Dr Gerald. What makes you call at this hour?"

_"I was checking on you. Clearly, you have not been taking the sleeping pills I gave you."_ Alena couldn't help smiling.

"Sorry, doc but I'm staying awake because there might be a call."

_"Your shift is technically over. You should get some rest, Alena."_

"Thanks doc. I'll do that," she lied. It seemed to have satisfied the psychiatrist.

_"You do it, Alena."_ With that the doctor hung up and Alena went back to her seat and stared out her window again.

**&&&**

There were times when Ryan noticed Alena a little more than usual. He would notice that she would do something to her hair or how she looked good in a skirt. This time he noticed that she was paler and she was so tired she would collapse. He wanted to bring this up but the way Alena would act when he was around made him back off. He kept it inside, hoping someone else noticed it. Horatio did but he was doing the extent to what he could. He knew that Alena was not sleeping, one of her 'symptoms' of depression but she was on two feet, alert as ever when she was on case. Ryan could tell she had practice to doing so. Now, he watched Alena walk through the halls of the crime lab, munching on an apple while looking over a file. It was then he noticed. She stumbled slightly as her eyes drooped. Before anyone else noticed it, Alena straightened herself and continued walking. He sighed as she walked passed the layout room they were supposed to work in. He was about to go and call her but she had backed up and went into the room.

"Anything new?" she asked looking down at the evidence Ryan had been working on: A piece of shirt.

"Fibers and hairs. Sent all the samples already," he said, turning to Alena," Have you been sleeping?" Alena gave him a look.

"Have you?" she asked, stating her point.

"Well, I meant even after cases," Ryan said. Alena let out a huff.

"Wolfe, in the best interest of your health, stop trying to be concerned about me," she said.

"Well, in the best interest of yours, I should."

"Why do you do this?"

"Because I may not be a friend to you but I still care."

"I don't need—"Alena didn't continue as she collapsed to the floor.

**&&&**

"Another collapse of fatigue," Horatio muttered as he stood at the foot of Alena's bed," She's been lying to me." Calleigh patted his arm before taking a seat that was next to Alena's bed.

"She's been lying to all of us," she pointed out as she watched Alexx playing with the tuffs of Alena's hair.

"And we didn't notice too. We all thought she was making progress," the coroner mumbled.

"She is, Alexx. But it wasn't as fast as we expected," Horatio commented. Eric came into the ward, sighing heavily.

"I just got off the phone with Dr Gerald. He said he'd be coming over. How could this happen, H? We all saw her progressing," the Cuban asked, looking over at the unconscious Alena.

"She is," he repeated," The progression is slow, Eric."

"We couldn't prevent this," Eric muttered. They all fell into a small silence as Eric's words sank into them. Calleigh looked around before turning to Horatio.

"Where's Ryan?"

**&&&**

The coffee in his hand was getting cold as he sat outside the hospital. He panicked when she collapsed before his cop side told him to check on her and call up emergency. He fell into operating procedures soon after. Horatio had come into the layout room at one point as Ryan was holding Alena in his arms in a cradling manner. The shock of what happened only came when Alena was being brought into the hospital. Ryan was sitting in Horatio's Hummer when he looked at the supervisor in mute shock. Now, he could only contemplate on what happened.

"Ryan." He didn't turn to the person who called his name. That person took it as cue to sit beside him. "The coffee's getting cold." Ryan placed it aside instead.

"How long will she be out, Horatio?"

"A few days. Her body is recovering from her fatigue," the supervisor explained.

"This happened before?"

"Three months ago."

"How did her body survive not resting?"

"Mind over matter," Horatio offered as explanation," Her mind was balancing her emotional state with her need to rest."

"She was having nightmares," he deduced.

"And there lies reason for not sleeping." Ryan looked at the redhead.

"Does she blame herself?"

"Yeah, she does," H said.

"You do too."

"I do too," Horatio confirmed.

"Why did you take me as a replacement?"

"We needed a CSI." Horatio's reason was too simple. Ryan could tell there was something more than that.

"You needed to convince yourself that you could move on," he said. Horatio didn't deny the statement. "But not everyone could. I don't think you did move on, H."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because no one can do that. You came to terms with his death. You hired me as a symbol that you did. You never moved on."

"Ryan…"

"Horatio, the way everyone treated me at first was saying that they had not come to terms with his death. Slowly, it degenerates to something. It was a sign that everyone did. But Alena came along and day by day, she would treat me like dirt. I knew that she would never come to terms with his death. But I tried to be a friend anyway. Because even if she treats me the way she does everyday, I'd have her back." The redhead looked at his subordinate before sighing.

"You'd do that?"

"I will."

"Good, we need someone who'll watch over her while we're gone," H said, standing up.

"Why? Where are you going?"

"I need my CSIs and ME to get back to work. We still have work to do."

"I do too."

"You're officially off the case. I'm assigning it to night-shift. You've got the week off too."

"H…" Horatio patted his back.

"Take care of her for us, Ryan."

**&&&**

The bright lights of the room made he shut her eyes again, groaning slightly as the pain to her sight was back up with the pain to her head. She tilted her head slightly and opened her eyes slowly. It was then she found a familiar face sitting at a chair in the corner of the room, fast asleep.

"Wolfe…" she whispered, realizing her throat was too dry for her to speak. Her eyes quickly checked her surroundings. She found herself in a hospital room.

"Shit…" she hoarsely cursed. The only reason she found herself in a hospital room was that she fainted from her lack of fatigue. She turned slowly and closed her eyes. Her body felt strangely refreshed. Before she could dwell into her own thoughts, she heard Ryan waking up.

"Alena? You're awake!" Instead of saying anything, she pointed to the water flask. Understanding her, Ryan fetched a glass of water for her. Alena took a long draught, realizing how dry her throat was.

"Everyone has been really worried about you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days. Doctor said that if you didn't wake up in another day, you'd be in a comatose state," Ryan said. Alena placed the glass down and turned to him.

"What are you doing here, Wolfe?"

"You fainted in front of me. Naturally, I'm worried."

"You don't have to be," she muttered.

"Well, I want to," he said," And I'm not trying to suddenly invade you with the want of being your friend or anything. I just care, okay?"

"Why would you?"

"Because I have your back, Richardson."

"You want me to do the same?"

"No, just come to terms with _me_." Alena looked at Ryan before sighing.

"Okay." Ryan gave her a half smile.

"Okay."

**&&&**

Glad to return back to work, Alena walked down the crime lab halls, almost bopping every time she took a step from her sudden burst of energy. She stepped into the locker room, where most of the CSIs, namely Eric and Calleigh, were gathered during start of shift.

"Good morning," she chirped, smiling. Eric looked at her before turning to Calleigh whose grin mirrored her friends.

"You should take rests more," the blonde pointed out. Alena blinked before shrugging.

"Okay, this is weird," the Cuban said," What happened to you?"

"Just feeling lightheaded."

"You're still on the drugs the doctor gave you, aren't you?" Eric asked. Alena nodded. "Al, you shouldn't even be here!"

"But I'm bored to death. Even with the Playstation 2 Ryan loaned to me!" she said, in a slightly whiny voice that could only come out from the CSI when she was drugged.

"H isn't going to like this," Eric muttered before frowning, "Wait, did you say, Ryan? As in Ryan Wolfe?"

"Yeah, it's his name, right?"

"You always called him Wolfe, Al," the Cuban pointed out.

"I like wolves," she said, giggling. Calleigh and Eric raised eyebrows in unison before looking at each other.

"Just what were you given again?" Before Alena could answer, Ryan stepped into the locker room.

"Guys, I lost Alena! I was heading to the grocery store and she was supposed to be home—"He stopped and looked at his surrounding. "I'm having a sense of déjà vu."

"Did you give her drugs or anything?" Eric asked.

"Yeah… her antidepressants," Ryan answered.

"Antidepressants aren't supposed to make her go all… Happy."

"As opposed to making her feel…?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow. Eric tilted his head to one side.

"Not in an endorphin high sort of way," Calleigh pointed out.

"We can do a drug test…" Eric suggested. Alena patted her shoulder before chuckling.

"I'm fine. Just wanted to scare the two of you for a bit," she said," Officially, my medical leave ended today."

"But you're on light duty," Ryan reminded her.

"You know, it's bad enough that mama hen mother hens me, Ryan," she scoffed mockingly.

"There she said 'Ryan' again," Eric pointed out. They ignored him.

"Well, you're a bit of a workaholic, Alena," Ryan pointed out. Eric and Calleigh nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Light duty. Lab work. No running in the hallways…"

"Go home when it's time to clock out," Ryan added.

"Yes, rooster boy," she huffed before smirking at him.

**&&&**

To be continued

**&&&**


	4. Bugs in the system

**Issues**

**By: Kuroi Neko-kun**

Summary: One of their CSIs return to day-shift and since Speed's death, everyone notice that she has changed.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami. Though the severely depressed character, Alena Richardson, in the story is mine. And the story itself.

Warning: Um… there's an OC? Oh, spoilers to Lost Son. And I haven't watched it yet. My country's still stuck in season 2. I'm not complaining though. Though I apologize for Ryan's OOC (if any). I don't know him yet.

A/N: My first CSI OC fic ever! This just came to my head. I wonder why? And I'm brushing through the case.

**&&&**

Chapter 4: Bugs in the system

**&&&**

It takes a lot to make a CSI flinch at the sight of a dead body. This was one of the few dead bodies that did. Covered in flies, maggots and other assorted creatures called bugs. He looked at it, keeping at a distance and turned to his supervisor.

"Okaaay…" he whistled," I'm not really big on the bugs."

"Especially when they're chewing up your body like that," Eric said from behind him. Ryan and Horatio silently agreed. The cadaver was already beyond recognition as the maggots fed on the decaying flesh. Horatio looked at his CSIs and tilted his head to the side.

"I called for Alena. She'll be here with Calleigh," the redhead said. Ryan gave him a confused look.

"Why did you call her here?" Ryan asked," She needs time before coming back to field."

"As much as your concern is appreciated, Ryan, I have no choice. We need an entomologist."

"What does Alena have to do with that?" Eric smirked.

"Alena didn't tell you, did she?"

"Tell me what?"

"Her specialty is entomology. She's our Bug Girl," the Cuban explained. The younger CSI blinked at him.

"B.S. in entomology?"

"No, that's biology. You should ask her where the entomology came in," Eric said. Ryan took that to consideration and looked at his supervisor who was now looking around the scene.

"H?"

"We'll process around the body. Until Alexx and Alena arrive, there's nothing we can do to it."

**&&&**

"I hate these cases," Alexx mumbled as she watched over Alena who was meticulously collecting several eggs, larvae, pupae and even adult flies into separately marked jars. She had to process head to toe, containing every significant insect on the body, clothes, hair and surrounding area.

"Well, mama hen, it's a good reason for us to work together," she pointed out. Alexx smiled.

"Your fear of morgues against your love for bugs," she said. Alena grinned.

"Hence the name 'Bug Girl'?" They turned to see Ryan looking over them, camera in hand. Alena shook her head, turning back to her bugs.

"I always hated that name."

"Because it's a sexist way to clarify a well respected specialty to your gender?" Ryan asked, settling next to her.

"No, because I always imagine myself in spandex with cockroach feelers when I hear it," she pointed out. The look on Ryan's face told her that he was thinking about it. She scowled.

"You have work to do, rooster boy," she pointed out.

"Sorry," he began snapping pictures of the body before noticing something gleaming on the body's wrist. Not wanting to touch the body, Ryan zoomed into the part with his camera lens.

"Whoa…" he mumbled. It was a watch and he could make out the brand. "A Rolex?"

"Where?" Alexx asked.

"Left wrist." All three looked at it before raising eyebrows.

"Rules out robbery," Alena said before sealing the last of her containers. "I'll be heading back to the crime lab with my pretties."

"Okay, that's just scary," Ryan commented.

**&&&**

The containers surrounding Alena meant one thing to her: Bugs. The blonde never could hide the distaste of the crawlies. It was her 'little girl' gene that kept her away from them. Then she met Alena, who was fascinated by them. But they still got along, despite differences. She watched her friend and fellow worker catalog each of her 'charges'.

"Calleigh?" She nearly jumped as Ryan approached her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm in conflict," she answered," Are you planning to go in?" Ryan nodded. "Good, tell Al I said hi and I'll be with her when she's bug free."

**&&&**

"Calleigh said hi," he said as he entered the room," And she said she'll be with you when you're bug free." Alena smiled, knowing that the blonde CSI wouldn't want to be near her bugs while she was working.

"This doesn't disturb you, rooster boy?" Alena asked, looking at her bug container again.

"When they're in jars, no," he answered," Do you need any help?"

"You can help me write up a timeline," she said, pointed to the whiteboard. Ryan stood at the board and picked up a marker. "Week zero: body dies. Week two: green blowflies arrive and leave their pupa casings. Week four: black soldier flies move in. At week twenty-eight, they leave their pupa casings."

"So that's the general timeline?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I found green blowflies pupa casings and black soldier eggs."

"That makes?"

"Six to eight weeks," she said before grinning," Like most mail orders."

"It still doesn't give us an exact time."

"Well, if you give me two or three weeks I can study the next hatching and time the hatching to the millisecond," she pans out. Ryan sighed.

"You can do that if H didn't put this case on rush," he said. This was news to her as she looked up from her writing.

"H put it on rush?"

"Eric ran the Rolex through the records. It's a dead judge."

"A judge? Wow, this case is going federal," Alena said.

"Does it always?"

"Ryan, you need the experience to know these things," she pointed out.

**&&&**

Informed of the supposed timeline, H looked at Alena. He knew that when she was in her world of bugs, she was completely lost in it. Horatio wasn't going to deny that of her.

"I can help you get the exact timeline if you let me do a two week study on them," she said. Horatio raised an eyebrow.

"Let's keep that to your interest. This case is on rush," he explained.

"That's why I said study. If I could use the case-study against the case, we'd have a better claim on the perpetrator," she said.

"You're just happy to be around bugs again, aren't you?" H asked, studying her.

"Nowadays, they're the only thing that makes me happy," she pointed out. H took a breath before turning back to her.

"I'll approve the study," he said. She grinned and resisted the urge to hug Horatio in a bouncing girl fashion.

**&&&**

"So explain to me why this study is important," Ryan asked as Alena placed a stop watch beside a container set up for her study. She clocked in the time and wrote something on her paper.

"Well, personally it's a hobby," she said.

"Your hobby is to meticulously study bugs?" Ryan asked," When did it start?"

"My father is an entomologist professor and my mom is an avid butterfly collector," she explained," I'm the only child of the bug world."

"Fascinating," Ryan drawled.

**&&&**

Horatio was hell-bent on searching for the perp. He had been going round labs and waiting for results. Ticking him off slightly was his director telling him to give the case to the FBI. It took all for him not to shoot the director. He made it clear that the feds could do what they want with it after he solved the case. He was heading off to find Eric when his cell phone rang. He hoped it was Tripp with some news but it was an unfamiliar number. He decided to answer it.

"Hello?"  
_"Lieutenant Caine? This is Gil Grissom of the Las Vegas crime lab."_

**&&&**

End of Part One

**&&&**

Damn the plot bunnies. I just had to squeeze in something else that's in my head at the moment (besides H as Bono and Speed as H). This will continue in another part called, 'Race'. I guess 'Issues' became the character introduction to Alena.


End file.
